Exxon Will Remake Shale Or Shale Will Remake Exxon – Bloomberg Gadfly

From the moment it began, you could tell something was missing from Exxon Mobil Corp.’s first strategy presentation under its new CEO: Texan Rex Tillerson’s usual jab at New York City, where the event is held.His successor at the helm, Darren Woods, kept many other things the same. There was the usual emphasis on superior performance and the benefits of integration and a relatively humdrum Q&A session.For all the continuity, though, Woods signaled some big shifts in where this supertanker is going.First, although capital expenditure is set to increase this year, Exxon appears to have partly embraced the idea that big budget projections are taboo with investors these days, aiming to hold spending at around $25 billion a year through 2020. That’s up from 2016’s $19.3 billion — which was very low — but still notably below the $30 billion-plus levels of 2011 to 2014, which eroded Exxon’s return on capital and dimmed its reputation for discipline.